It was a good thing that Wren was taking a blood nap in my tub. She was more preoccupied with getting her strength up than fighting her lost battles. Lumi had fetched more than two dozen gallons of blood from the campus club. I was a bit worried why they had so much on hand for emergencies, but at this point, I stopped asking myself foolish questions.

I couldn’t save them all, I had to focus on only saving Sasha…

It was a selfish thought, but Wren was right. I was only one person against a world filled with demons. As much as I hated the thought of slashing heads of the innocent, there was no other way. If we let one go, another would follow. It was an endless cycle of torment and tribulation, and there was no off switch for it.

I sighed.

When I walked into the den, I saw Ava reading one of my game guides from the wall to wall bookshelf. She noticed me, closing the magazine and getting on her feet with a soft smile on her face. “This isn’t exactly what I expected a demon’s lair to look like. Usually, a demon gets rid of the possessions its vessel cherished, unless he had dark motives for the vessel’s family. But, you don’t look like the type.”

“That’s because I’m not. I’m also not possessed.”

Her smile waned down. “I don’t understand. Are you a true demon?”

“Something like that.”

“I heard Bishop call you Samael. Samael is a prince of hell.”

“I’m Isaac, a reincarnation of Samael. I didn’t retain his memories, but I’m still him, in a sense. It wasn’t until I died did my demonic essence awaken. It’s complicated, and I don’t expect just anyone to understand. To be frank with you, I wasn’t sold the first time I heard it either. I spent 20 years of my life human, skeptical about the paranormal. Now I’m living it, as a prince of hell. I have a mission here, to stop these unruly demons who are tormenting humans, and destroying the natural order of the business. It’s hard work, and I feel like a fish out of water, but I have to protect the ones I love at all costs.”

She gawked at me with a hot flush on her cheeks.

“Heh, speechless?”

“I… wasn’t expecting you to sound so righteous…”

“No matter what I do, I don’t think a demon could ever be righteous. Not exactly in the job title!” I teased with her, trying to be a little less intimidating. “There’s still things I have to do that I don’t exactly agree with. Demon things, like signing demon deals, and drinking blood.”

“It is what you need to survive, yes?”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t make it moral. It’s something I have to grow into, and it’s not easy.”

“You don’t understand…” she shuddered. “These fallen angels, they are the REAL demons!” she blurted out, her eyes filled with emotion. “I know what my brother and his winged friends are doing! Trying to summon the darkest of entities and unleash it in our world! They aren’t thinking about the chaos that would follow! Those selfish heathens haven’t calculated the immense risk of messing with unholy power! The darkness is celestial! A concept we still don’t fully understand! The world will collapse if we let them win!”

“Then why haven’t you tried to stop him, Ava?” I asked her seriously. “My girls just told me about the darkness, Jorbius. He sounds like the end of the world type deal, the Armageddon. I mean, he’s your brother, right? If anything, he’d listen to you.”

“Look at me!” she cried. “Does it look like I’m capable of doing such a thing? I’ve tried talking to my brother, I’ve tried a hundred times. There is no knocking any sense into him! He refuses to listen to reason! His gain from all of this is power! The strength of angels! But what good would that do when we are all dead!” She trembled. “Jorbius is untamable. Whoever thinks otherwise is fooling himself… But, there is one thing that will send him back from where he came from—a blade dipped in royal demon blood…”

Royal blood?

Did that mean that I am able to stop this behemoth of a problem from killing us all?

“Ava, did you know what I was? When we first met, did you know that I was a demon?”

“I don’t know what it is… but, something about you was calling to me. It felt strange, but it didn’t feel bad. Yet somehow, I knew the attraction was tainted from the very beginning. So yes, I knew.” She blushed. “Does that make me evil for lusting over a demon?”

I wouldn’t get to answer her question. My spiritual core popped up, the screen asking for my immediate input:

Samael, Underworld Prince of Darkness

Merger Request: Human

Add Priestess Ava Fitzgerald into your Domain?

Current Domain Members: Lumi, Ruby, Wren, Trista

Y/N?

Bloodlust Bar: 70/100

Why was I being asked that question?!

To take Ava into my harem?

Wait a minute, this question was a blessing in disguise. And it wasn’t so out of place as I thought. As a prince, I gained perks from my girls. It was how I built up strength. Every time I slept with a girl from my domain, we grew stronger as a family.

If it were any other case, I would have given it more thought. This wasn’t just any girl, but a disciple of god. However, seeing as Sasha needed me, I’d already made up my mind.

I’d deal with my harem later. I knew they’d grill me for accepting Ava into the family, especially Wren, who’d made it clear how she felt about members of the Holy Order getting within two feet of the House of Samael.

So I walked up to Ava and asked her, “How do you feel about teaming up with a demon prince?”

Her eyes grew wide.

“I call this fate. You need someone to stop your evil brother’s plans in the event that the darkness is unleashed. And I need someone to help me save a friend. If you join me and help us figure out how to extract and trap these demons, I’ll train up to fight this darkness.”

“Extract and trap?”

“I assume that’s what Founder’s Grace is doing, right? Pulling demons out of human vessels and storing them somewhere until Jorbius can be summoned.” I chuckled. “Or, that mindset could be all of my wishful thinking.”

“When the guild traps a demon, the demonic spirit is extracted, yes, but I don’t necessarily know how. I am not part of the process. I had made it very clear since the beginning that I was against this plan of his, and because of this, he never trusted me with the specifics. He calls me a demon loving whore…” She sulked. “I am willing to act as a liaison for you Isaac, but I might draw suspicion if I become suddenly interested in his affairs. Besides, right now isn’t a good time for me to be asking questions. Bishop is still alive, and he’d assume I went off with you.”

“Or, you could tell them that I captured you for intel.”

“That’s true…”

I brought my hand on her shoulder to put her at ease, and stared at those beautiful blue eyes. “Hey, no pressure. If you don’t want to go back to the church, I won’t force you. I want you to feel safe. Either way, the offer is on the table. I’d settle for a simple exorcism, and we can think of something more permanent later.”

“Isaac…”

“This girl I want you to save… she means a lot to me. What that demon did to her, there are no words. If I could help her, in any way, I’ll take it. I owe her that much.”

She gasped, clasping her hands together. “Oh, god has answered my prayers!”

I chuckled. “It… feels really weird saying that god handed you over a model of evil to defeat a bigger baddy, but—”

“It’s true! I’ve heard of you, Samael. I’ve heard of your power and your domain. Your army was one of the biggest out there. But your persona, one to be feared. And yet, here you are, talking about fighting for the ones you love, making sure that a complete stranger is safe. Being righteous and doting. It’s nothing like the stories I’ve heard. I say it was a blessing you’d lost your memory, because this demon prince has values, has morals, and most of all, has a heart.” She placed her hand over my chest and looked up to me lovingly. “He is strong, and he fights for humanity. You are exactly who I was looking for. I knew there was something special about you, Isaac. And I was right.”

I read the eagerness and readiness in her happy eyes. Even so, I had to ask, “So the big question still stands, putting it bluntly—do you want to be part of my harem?”

She giggled. “Of course!”

I smiled. “Great!” I confirmed the response internally—saying it aloud would trigger too many questions on Ava’s part. Even I wasn’t entirely sure what this spiritual guidance was supposed to do, so explaining it to her wouldn’t be easy. After I confirmed my choice, another screen popped up with a domain update, and a… mission?

Samael, Underworld Prince of Darkness

Specialties: Flame Magic

Pact Score: 0

Domain Members: Lumi, Ruby, Wren, Trista, Ava

Mission: Ground five contracts on campus.

Reward: (Insight of Desire) Location of a demon of your choice

House of Samael Buffs: 5% power boost within close proximity

House of Samael Stronghold: Bottom 5%

Bloodlust Bar: 70/100

Accept? Y/N

I was trumped.

Lumi hadn’t mentioned this thing handing off missions! Then again, I remembered seeing something that said mission loading when I was bleeding out on Sasha’s floor. My familiar called this thing my core, my guide. Like a stats menu, I’d get updates or tabs on my progress. Yet here it was, giving me a mission, with a reward tied to it.

A mission impossible task, I thought. When truthfully, it was just one I didn’t feel comfortable doing. However, the reward was something I really needed. Insight of desire—it was reading my internal wants and it dropped it on the table like a juicy temptation. A motivator. Lumi had mentioned sealing pacts from the very beginning, but I’d never been for it. Not too long after, Wren emphasized the importance of sealing pacts, so I was bound to do this anyway. So I took a hard gulp and accepted the mission, Ava noticing how disgruntled I was getting.

“Isaac, is that not the answer you wanted?”

“Yeah, but I’m not entirely happy about it. Guess I really don’t have a choice. It’s part of the process.”

She shirked back saddened.

“Huh? Oh, no, I was thinking about something else, not the question I asked you. Heh. Sorry about that. You’re really hot, I’d be an idiot not to have you.”

She blushed. “You think I’m hot?”

“I hope that’s not a serious question. It’s pretty obvious.”

“Hm, maybe I have a few self-esteem issues. I was raised in a very modest home as a child.”

“Conditions like that are a starting point for rebellion. And I saw that in you when you lured me to that bedroom yesterday.”

“You say lure like I was a predator.” She smiled sneakily.

“I can already tell that you have a wild side,” I said deviously as I cupped her cheek. “If your bully of a brother hadn’t cock blocked me, we would have had our moment together.”

She smiled. “I’d like to kiss you now, Isaac.”

“Well, you’re officially part of my harem, so you don’t have to ask. You can kiss me whenever you like,” I reminded her, my priestess tip-toeing up to my lips for our first kiss. She pressed up into me and I took her in my arms. Her soft lips against mine must have been what heaven felt like, all of my worries practically melting away. She slipped her tongue in my mouth, staying true to that whole wild side I mentioned. I could tell Ava was going to be a fun addition to the House of Samael, this church girl already doting over me.

When she pulled back from our passionate kiss, her eyes shimmered in awe. “I can’t believe I just kissed a demon prince!” she chirped. “I can’t contain my giddiness!”

I laughed. “You’re making me out to be someone special.” I brushed my fingers down the strands of hair over her shoulder, eyeing her wounds. “Let me take care of you. I have a medicine kit in the bathroom.”

“That’s sweet of you, Isaac. I’d love that.”